Most consumers begin the process of buying an item that requires financing, such as an automobile, by contacting their lending institution (e.g., bank, credit union, etc.) to apply for a monetary loan. After checking the consumer's personal information and credit history, a representative of the lending institution informs the consumer of the loan amount, period, and interest rate for which he/she is eligible. If the consumer agrees to the terms of the loan, the lender representative delivers (e.g., by express mail, courier service, etc.) a “sight draft” to the consumer. The sight draft, when executed, grants to the lending institution a security interest in the purchased automobile as collateral for the monetary loan.
With the sight draft in hand, the consumer may proceed to an appropriate automobile dealership, select an automobile, and make the purchase. For the automobile dealership, the sight draft essentially serves as a check or cash payment from the lending institution. The dealership fills in the pertinent information on the sight draft, including the dealership's name, the automobile's vehicle identification number (VIN), and the purchase price, and the consumer signs the sight draft to complete the purchase. The dealership then sends the sight draft along with the purchase agreement and title application to the lending institution for processing and payment.
With the advent of the Internet and electronic commerce (e-commerce), many aspects of the above process may now be performed online. For example, certain lenders provide their customers the option to apply for a monetary loan online. (Fulfillment of the loan application is still largely a manual process, however, as most lenders require the customer to hand sign the loan documents and return them to the lenders.) Similarly, consumers may now research and select the automobiles they wish to purchase online through a commercially-available car pricing service, such as Zag.com, Inc. of Santa Monica, Calif. However, while these and other online options are significantly more convenient than their manual counterparts, they are generally still discrete and disconnected options; that is, each online option requires the consumer to complete that option separately and independently from other online as well as manual options.
Accordingly, what is needed is a more convenient way for consumers to purchase an item that typically requires financing, such as an automobile, online. More specifically, what is needed is a way to integrate various aspects of online buying in order to provide consumers with a single, one-stop solution for conducting online purchases.